#FortunateFriday: The Aurora Project

With yesterday being Australia Day, we wanted to talk about our Indigenous Australians and why so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to this day are very sensitive about Australia Day being celebrated on the 26th of January each year. Whilst it is a day many of us celebrate and reflect on how fortunate we are to be an Australian and how great our land is; many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians mourn the lives of their ancestors, the loss of their freedom, and the loss of their land. As Darumbul woman from central Queensland, and the former editor of the National Indigenous Times and Tracker magazine Amy McQuire puts it, “if your ancestors were dispossessed, slaughtered and had their land and children taken away would you celebrate the date on which that all began?”

Recognition of our Indigenous Australians

It was only in recent years that our government has recognised and apologised for the suffering endured by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians that they are now working to ‘close the gap’. Did you know that educational attainment has long been recognised as being correlated with a range of indicators of social well being? As a result of this, education has been a major focus in the strategy to ‘close the gap’ between our Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations.

About the Aurora Project

This week, our #FortunateFriday feature is the Aurora Project – an organisation committed to strengthening Indigenous organisations by supporting their staff and facilitating opportunities for all Australians to work in these organisations. The Aurora Project, through the Aurora Education Foundation run projects aimed at improving educational outcomes for Indigenous Australians and to transforming the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians through education, helping our Indigenous Australians with opportunities and support to realise their potential and succeed at high school, university and beyond. They aim to grow the numbers of Indigenous leaders, mentors and academic role models and strive hard to change the current narrative of Indigenous education, so that outstanding achievement is seen as the norm rather than the exception.

Opportunities for our Indigenous Australians

We have been so proud of the work they have done in the past few years and their work in recent years has been truly exceptional – from facilitating internship programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, to providing scholarship and international study tour opportunities for our Indigenous Australians, to working in partnership with selected organisations such as the Charlie Perkins Trust and the Roberta Skyes Indigenous Education Foundation to offer scholarship opportunities for our Indigenous Australians to study overseas at top universities in the UK and the US. Just think about it, just over six and a half years ago, there had never been an Indigenous Australian studying for a full-time degree at Oxford or Cambridge. As of January 2016, 15 Indigenous postgraduates scholars have graduated from one of these leading universities! How amazing is that? You can find out more about their program here.

How we would like to contribute

At Dolph Business School, we want to be able to contribute to our amazing Indigenous Australians and we believe that the education is the best way to empower people. We would like to establish a scholarship program for our Indigenous Australians and are welcoming any submissions to help us design a meaningful scholarship program for our Indigenous Australian community. We would greatly appreciate it is you are able to submit your contribution to us at: [email protected] by the 28th of April 2017. Any businesses interested in partnering with us in delivering a meaningful scholarship program to our Indigenous Australians may also reach out to our Head of Operations at: [email protected].

Please note, our #FortunateFriday posts are not sponsored. They are chosen to be featured by our team in consultation with our students, and they are chosen because we believe in what they do and want the world to know about them!

Let us know what you think of our #FortunateFriday features and if you like it, don’t be shy to share it! If you don’t want to miss out on our #FortunateFriday features and other exciting news about what’s happening in our world and the education sector, subscribe to our newsletter below! You just might also be privy to special offers just for subscribing!

‘Till our next #FortunateFriday feature, have a great week and remember to be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Your act of kindness could create immense change beyond your wildest imagination!

Thinking of Studying?

We offer Certificate and Diploma courses to both Australian and international students. Feel free to browse our website to find out more, or call us on 1300 236 574and speak to one of our friendly staff members.